SMELL THE WATER AND TELL ME I WON'T DROWN
It smells like sprinklers
hot pavement
And dirt
the sky is six different colors
And the cicadas sing at six different octaves
my face is red
Hair wet with sweat
From chasing the cat
Around the yard
Barefoot in the grass
That morning momma had made chocolate chip pancakes
With butter and honey
She braided my sisters hair while I sang “blank space”
By taylor swift
Screaming over the speaker which played wide and loud
And the squirrel stole the seeds from the birdfeeder
And the night before
Daddy read us one bedtime story
Even thought my sister had begged for two
We sat sulking in our princess dresses
That smelled like old toys
And home
Daddy closed the book
And turned on the galaxy light as he walked out
Made sure the door was ajar
To let the light in
And let the cat in
And four years before that I was new
And red
And I smelled like baby powder
Hospitals
Blood
And
Life
My skin was soft
and i screamed
Momma didn’t wear makeup
or cry quite as much
My sister just learned to walk
and she held me with shaking hands
And just then
Everything sounded like music
and summer never ended
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